Saturday, September 02, 2006

Mr. Chris Thile

Hello gentle readers!

I'm the long-fabled Jenny that Anne has previously mentioned. I'm really excited that Anne decided to let me contribute to her wonderful music blog. I was only worried that I would prove unreliable. But Anne assured me that she would welcome any or all contributions no matter how infrequent. So here goes with my first post...

A little background on the artist featured today-Chris Thile. Thile is (or used to be) one third of a pseudo-bluegrass outfit called Nickel Creek. Chris, and brother sister duo,Sean and Sara Watkins released three amazing albums together. Recently the band announced that they would be going on an indefinite hiatus in order to pursue solo projects.

Chris' influences range from bluegrass greats like Edgar Meyer and Bill Monroe, to more rock and alternative oriented artists like Radiohead, Elliott Smith, The White Stripes, and The Strokes. As a result the music that he produces is an interesting blend of contemporary attitudes and older more traditional instrumentation.

Thile's album, entitled How To Grow A Woman From The Ground, it is being released by Sugar Hill Records on September 12th. Chris (known primarly as a mandolinist) gathered together some friends in his new hometown of New York City and formed the "How To Grow Band" and recorded and produced the album. The album is a wonderful mix of covers (The Strokes, The White Stripes, and Gillian Welch), orginals, and instrumentals.